Download 55TH COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE

55TH COMMONWEALTH
PARLIAMENTARY
CONFERENCE
ADDRESS BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE
COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION
DR WILLIAM F SHIJA
ARUSHA, TANZANIA
2 OCTOBER 2009
Hon. Samuel John Sitta, MP, President of the Association and Speaker of the
National Assembly of Tanzania
Hon. Kenneth Marende, MP, Vice-President of the Association and Speaker of
the National Assembly of Kenya
Hon Dato' Seri Mohd. Shafie Apdal, MP, Chairperson of the Executive
Committee and Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Malaysia
Hon. Keith L Flax, MLC, Vice-Chairperson of the Executive Committee and
Deputy Speaker, Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands
Hon. Hashim Abdul Halim, MLA, Treasurer of the Association and Speaker of the
Legislative Assembly of West Bengal
Hon Anna Abdallah, M.P., CWP President
Hon Kashmala Tariq, M.P., CWP Chairperson
Members of the CPA Executive Committee
Speakers and Other Presiding Officers
Mrs Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General
CPA Branch Secretaries
Honourable Delegates, Invited Guests and Observers
Ladies and Gentlemen
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Mr President, may I start by expressing, on behalf of the Executive Committee,
my deepest condolences at the loss of life and property following the sunami
that hit Samoa two days ago. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those that
have lost family or loved ones in these tragic circumstances.
In my remarks to you today, let me first say that I am happy to join the President
of the United Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, the
Hon Samuel J Sitta, our esteemed Host, the Speaker of the Tanzania National
Assembly and my fellow Tanzanians in welcoming you distinguished delegates
to Arusha, Tanzania, where the 55th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
is being held this year.
In a special way, I also join our Host in extending a warm welcome to Mrs
Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, the Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General,
and her delegation. Her presence at our annual conference is indicative of the
strong partnership that our two organisations enjoy as we advance the
principles and values of the wider Commonwealth. Besides, Mrs MasireMwamba’s home country, Botswana, has had excellent relations with Tanzania,
in the context of the contribution by both countries to the growth of the
Southern African Development Community (SADC), Africa and the
Commonwealth at large.
This year happens to be the 10th anniversary of the death of the father of this
nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere who continues to be remembered
by Tanzanians as having worked selflessly and sacrificed so much for the
development of the nation called Tanzania. I personally would not have had
the benefit of access to education had it not been for Mwalimu Nyerere’s
policies of unity, free education for all, and social development. I wish to join all
those Tanzanians and others in Africa in remembering this great son of Tanzania
and Africa.
I believe that many of us need to continue remembering our founding fathers,
such as Kwameh Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Kenneth Kaunda, Nelson Mandela,
Samora Machel and many others, for the sacrifice and dedication in the
struggle for democracy and development in the continent of Africa. As
students of history we know that they endured suffering, humiliation and pain
trying to bring about democratic rule and development for their people. Long
live the founding fathers of Africa!
In a similar manner there are many founding fathers in the developing world
including Asia and the Caribbean who need to be remembered for their role in
pursuit of democracy and development. Today happens to be the occasion to
remember the contribution of a great son of India, Ghandi Jayanti, popularly
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known as Mahatma Gandhi who worked tirelessly, using non-vilent means, for
the development of democracy. We wish to join our colleagues of India in
saluting this great leader of Asia and the world.
Secondly Mr. President,
This year is particularly special for us all as we mark 60 years of the modern
Commonwealth. Thus, the theme “The Commonwealth at 60: Serving a New
Generation” could not be a more fitting tribute to the future of the
Commonwealth; that is, the young generation.
I wish to sincerely thank His Excellency, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the
United Republic of Tanzania for what I consider to be his most encouraging
message to the youth in the Commonwealth and the CPA. I believe it is the
spirit of serving the new generation which influenced the Speaker of the
Tanzania National Assembly to seek government’s decision to host this important
Parliamentary conference in Tanzania for the first time in the 98 years history of
the Association, including the first period when the CPA was known as the
Empire Parliamentary Association (EPA).
On behalf of the CPA Chairperson, the Hon Dato' Seri Mohd. Shafie Apdal, MP,
and Members of the Executive Committee and delegates, I wish to thank you
Mr President for the contribution you have made to the Association during your
presidency. I also wish to thank the Clerk of the Tanzania National Assembly, Dr.
Thomas Kashillilah, who is also the Regional Secretary of the CPA Africa Region,
and your staff, who, for the past seven to eight months, have tirelessly worked
with us to put together the details of the 55th Commonwealth Parliamentary
Conference, to ensure the delegates’ comfort during their stay in this tourist city
of Arusha, and Tanzania in general.
Mr. President,
I welcome and thank all the representatives of Commonwealth and
international organisations such as the UN Habitat, the World Bank, and others,
for their participation and willingness to assist us at this conference, either as
Workshop Presenters, Discussion Leaders, or both. The CPA indeed values and
appreciates the partnerships we have built over the years and we look forward
to continued collaboration in our various areas of work. For our achievements
since the conference in Malaysia, I sincerely thank the Chairperson and
members of the Executive Committee for their guidance and policy decisions
throughout the year.
To the Regions and Branches, I thank you most sincerely for your cooperation
and participation in the activities and programmes of the Association. In all my
regional and branch visits, your reception and hospitality have been wonderful
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indeed. Over the past year, you have supported us to successfully conduct and
deliver programmes such as Post Election Seminars, Parliamentary Seminars,
Parliamentary Visits, Staff Training and others in the areas of Parliamentary
Reform in Africa and Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures.
Accordingly, I would like to commend the Commonwealth Women
Parliamentarians who have devised a work programme which will be carried
out at Commonwealth, Regional and Branch levels. Since the last conference
in Malaysia the CWP Africa, Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic, and Canada
Regions have held successful meetings; in Cameroon for the Africa Region;
Nevis for the Caribbean Region and Toronto, Canada for the Canada Region.
There are numerous other plans and we look forward to serving you as Members
in existing and new programmes. Apart from some of the core programmes I
have mentioned, we also work closely with partners in the areas of education,
health, agricultural development and the welfare of children in accordance
with our current strategic plan for 2008 – 2012.
As you may be aware, the Executive Committee, earlier this year, approved a
new
programme
policy,
popularly
known
as
“Extra-Budgetary
Programmes/Projects” under the initiative of the Chairperson of the Executive
Committee, the Hon Shafie Mohd. Apdal, MP. The new policy initiative is
intended to deliver tangible facilities to our branches, and for the Association’s
work to be seen on the ground for the promotion of democratic principles,
particularly in developing countries. The first funds are to benefit our Branches of
St Lucia, Zanzibar, Bougainville, Kwara State in Nigeria and Namibia.
The second stage of this initiative is known as “The Little Acorns” project, which
will be launched during this conference starting with three beneficiaries in
Tanzania - one school in Arusha, another school in Zanzibar and a third school in
Dodoma. The Little Acorns project aims to equip educational institutions with
information technology facilities for the purpose of promoting democracy and
good governance among the youth. It is hoped that with the assistance of
partners and your usual cooperation, this project will continue to grow and
benefit more Branches.
I also wish to inform you that the Executive Committee has already approved
the planning to mark the centennial celebrations for the CPA in 2011 when the
conference will be held in the United Kingdom. To flag off a few areas for the
advance information to Members, we expect to do the following: to organise
the Commonwealth Youth Parliament at both Branch and pan-Commonwealth
levels; to produce commemorative items and souvenirs; to run a CPA essay
competition; and to prepare special books and commemorative publications
on Commonwealth legislatures and Women parliamentarians. There are other
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activities I cannot list further but the CPA Secretariat will begin to communicate
with Regions and Branches soon after this Conference.
Thirdly Mr President,
Under the theme of this year’s conference “The Commonwealth and the CPA:
Meeting Future Global Challenges”, distinguished delegates will have the
opportunity to debate various issues in Parliamentary Democracy, the Global
Financial Crisis, Climate Change, Terrorism and Youth Engagement in
Representative Democracy; all of which affect large and small countries; poor
and rich nations; and women, men and children. These issues are very
important to all of us as we team up to re-assert Parliament’s constitutional
mandate of representation, legislation and oversight in the development and
management of national and international affairs including the resolve to
stamp out corruption.
Most of us would know that development and
management are not easy and developing countries have to make hard
choices in a ruthless globalised world.
For example many of us in Tanzania fondly recall the words of Founding Father,
Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, who once told the Tanzania National
Assembly in 1991 that small and under-developed countries run the risk of being
ignored and marginalised if they failed to cooperate.
It is in this regard that this conference is meeting at a time when several other
fora have debated and continue to debate the same issues as those we have
here in Arusha. For example, the Heads of State and Government met at the
United Nations in New York in June this year to discuss the World Financial and
Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development. They observed that a
globalised economic order has now evolved to contain elements that are
under-regulated, unsupervised and unequal; and the order has proven to be
unstable and unsuited for the demands of the 21st Century.
The Leaders further noted that developing countries are now bearing the brunt
of this crisis, for which they are least responsible. The recent and ongoing food
and fuel crises have only compounded the effect of the financial and
economic collapse, and exacerbated the burdens and sorrows of the
developing world. They have argued that short-term stabilization measures
must protect the poor, and long-term measures must ensure sustainable
financial flows while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of future crises. At
this point we can place our hopes on the recent G20 Pittsburgh Resolutions to
implement measures that protect the poor, but we can only hope.
I say this because recent media reports show that research by Oxfam revealed
that sub-Saharan African countries alone face a huge deficit likely to reach £43
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billion this year, because of the economic crisis, leaving African governments
increasingly unable to protect their citizens from falling trade, investment,
remittances, hunger and the impact of climate change.
According to the European Network on Debt and Development, it is estimated
that one billion people across the planet are now hungry and the promised £30
billion bailout for poor countries at the G20 London meeting in April 2009
appears not to have been fully delivered. Consequently schools and health
clinics are also at risk.
The crisis, as resource persons observed at this year’s regional conferences of
the United Kingdom and the Mediterranean in Guernsey, the Caribbean, the
Atlantic and Americas in Georgetown, Guyana and Africa, in Port Harcourt,
Nigeria, requires urgent and better government intervention in the economy to
safeguard the interests of both the market and the public. We all recognise the
efforts so far made by the international community in this regard.
Parliamentarians here should feel free to contribute and critique what the
United Nations and other agencies are doing to establish a global response to
this crisis, including the processes of reforming the United Nations and the world
economic, financial and trading system to prevent a repetition of such a crisis.
Mr. President,
Another topic that has continued to attract your interest and one that the world
is highly passionate about is that of Climate Change.
At the 54th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Malaysia last year,
there was general agreement that solutions to combat the impact of climate
change could only be achieved through international co-operation between all
states, large and small. Further to this consensus, and in response and support to
the global concern on climate change, the CPA Executive Committee this year
approved the formation of a Climate Change Task Force to formulate actions to
combat the impacts of climate change.
Also, in July this year, the CPA UK Branch convened a conference on Climate
Change, in London, the outcome of which will most likely be shared with
delegates at this conference. Similar discussions on climate change were held
during the Regional Conferences of the Africa and Caribbean Regions.
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As we count down to Copenhagen, I have been most encouraged to read
that the United Nations Climate Change Chief, Yvo de Boer, feels hopeful that,
that climate change conference in December this year will most likely close with
agreements on four political essentials. These include how much industrialized
and major developing countries would reduce contribute to the reduction of
carbon emissions and how to finance the needs of developing countries for
climate friendly technology.
It has been observed that among the developing countries, those in Africa
continue to bear the extreme negative impacts of climate change, taking into
consideration the levels of development. Because of this frustration, what is now
being demanded, as reported last month, is that major polluters of the
environment such as the United States, the European Union, Japan and others
should compensate Africa to the tune of US$ 67 billion a year, a demand which
may be lodged at the climate change summit in Copenhagen this December.
I am also delighted that delegates at this conference will debate the issue of
terrorism, which continues to be a peril of immense social and economic
consequences for both developing and developed countries. The impact of
terrorism includes: the diversion of foreign direct investment, destruction of
infrastructure, redirection of public investment to security and the limitation of
trade.
Terrorism, like civil conflicts, may cause spillover costs among
neighbouring countries, as a terrorist campaign in a neighbour dissuades capital
inflows, or a regional multiplier causes lost economic activity in the terror-ridden
country to resonate throughout the region. Some of our regions such as Asia
and India are currently feeling the most recent effects of terrorism. I hope that
this conference will provide not only an opportunity for the sharing of
experiences but devising more legislative and other mechanisms to combat
terrorism at national, regional and international levels.
Mr President, Distinguished Delegates,
I wish to believe that as we deliberate these and other issues, we have to ask
ourselves what our responsibilities and responses, as Commonwealth
Parliamentarians, should be towards the many global issues particularly those
that impact on our young and mature democracies, for the benefit of our
present and future generations. In the Commonwealth, Parliamentarians need
to work with others in the global community for the purpose. Although this
conference does not usually produce communiqués or resolutions, we need to
come up with a strong and clear message on what we consider to be the best
solutions to the issues under discussion. In this case, we need to record in our
conference summary what our conference in Arusha generally deliberated
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upon, including what we can do to assist our governments to make informed
but hard decisions today for a better world tomorrow.
Finally Mr President, as we all know, an event like this does not happen
overnight. It requires planning and a bird’s eye for detail. This conference has
been fortunate enough to be hosted by Tanzania and supported by a team of
hardworking and dedicated members of staff of the CPA Headquarters
Secretariat. They were willing to take on the completion of tasks beyond their
normal working hours. I wish therefore to sincerely congratulate and thank them
all for the wonderful support. Our team’s work is solid, our accounts are clean,
and our sincerity and enthusiasm are every ready.
Distinguished Delegates, I wish you successful and fruitful deliberations over the
next few days.
Asante Sana (Thank you very much)
Karibuni Sana (You are all most welcome)
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